Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey guys. I am new to the boa room as I usually spent most of my time in the varanid rooms.... But sindce you guys are with the programs, not in it for the money, and so on and so forth, I need some solid answers. I have posted in other rooms but things aren't like our site here on kingsnake. So, lets begin.

OK, here's the deal. I am normally a monitor man. I don't mess with snakes too too much. Have alot as a kid in high school, but almost 10yrs later find myself going back to the varanids.

Anyhow, a person was going to move, she was going to give it to a local shop ( which to me has horrid conidions with starving animals. ) She bought it from him, etc but I have seen his stock. The monitors are bony thin.

Anyhow, I decided and got her to let me take it on and set a price. I got the enclosure, a 40gal, and the supplies ( a lamp and a heat rock and a water bowl. with bark on the bottom full of feces)

She seemed like she cared about the snake and clamims she had extensive knowledge but I assured her she was wrong in many areas and explained why.

For instance, she said the reason its so small is b/c they grow to the size of their enclosure. That has NEVER happened with ANY of my snakes nor monitors, or whatever I had. if that was the case people wouldn;'t be giving up and setting loose large iguanas.

Let me tell you the specs and you give me YOUR opinion. I know not of the boas family to the level of you guys and your experience would be appreciated.

She had it in a 40gal short with a mesh top. I hate drafts on my herps. Its 100 out here outside but indoors its 70-74. Too cold. Not stable enough. She said she had the snake for 5 YEARS. Its 5 FEET LONG!!!

I showed her pictures and she said the growing to the enclosure thing.

She said she fed it lately 2 med rats/mo so to me it is underfed or not properly warmed as the heat POS rock was appx 8inX4in for a 5ft snake not to mention those things burn some herps. MOnitors have tougher bodies and won't be affected as much ( but I still hate them, I go lamps, lamps lamps.... More predictable and easier for me to use my digi thermometer. )

I removed it form the nasty fecal ridden 40 and put it in my monitor enclosure I built after sterilizing. I could have put it in the smaller one, my 4Lx2Wx2H. But I haven't ordered my caiman or my monitor so no biggie. I probably won't order them. Snakes are way easier than a 8ft monitor that needs a bedroom and eats like a horse. So now its in my 8ftLx4ftWx30inH. SO waaaay huge for such a small snake.

Now for the question Trivia:

So now with the quest's for you guys..

So is 5ft too small for a 5y/o boa?

My temps are 80.4 ambient. Hot spot is fairly warm but will change wattage or height. What temp basking spot is best? MOnitors like 140F. What about these guys?

In the pics what is she? Just a regualr old common boa? Not a surinam (obviously), etc?

I know my punnett squres from my animal genetics classes in college but can't seem to figure your system of breeding. If she is a regular, and I breed it to a het for albino, are my chances 1/16th getting one in a clutch? Is she too small to breed?

I decided to throw a rat in there. I WAS going to keep them for my retired rack system and put it back in business but that didn't work out. So I grabbed the smallest as it would take the longest to breed. Took awhile but she took it. Doesn't seem like she is very interested in much movement, but once I got her on a roll she was cooking. I fed her 3 med sized rats. Her body seem normal, not overly stuffed, etc.

So I will leave her be for the next wk. So if I feed her once a week 3small rats, shouldn't she catch up to normal size? Or since its this far in the game, her metabolism has slowed and she'll not grow much more, just weight wise. Is this true?

Thanks for all your guys help and here are the pics.....

haha, sorry for being so long too...

I skimmed over the whole thing and hope I can help with some of your concers.

First I am glad there a people like you in the world and love reading stories similar to yours.

Your beautiful female looks very healthy and is a BCI (Boa Constrictor Imperator).

I think the ambient temp should be a bit higher areound 85 or so is fine and the hot spot around 90.

If you breed her to a het albino you will get half normal and half het albinos making the whole litter "normals 50% het
albino"

Judging by your pics I do not think you necessarily need to feed her 3 med rats a week. That seems like alot for a Boa that is over five years old maybe 2-3 every two weeks should do (I think that ppl who over feed Boas are insane especially when the snakes is worth more than a car!). 'I usually feed my adults a large or jumbo rat and then dont feed them until they have passed the meal thru there system. In the wild a Boa will eat and then find a place to chill until the meal has digested. So why should it be any different for captive snakes?

Hope this helped you out a little.

Greg Reinert

From the pics, she looks lean but not starving, sould go on a once every two week feeding schedule and is NOT necessary to get her up to any specific size.
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Thanks,

Dave "Rainbows-R-Us"

0.1 Wife (WC)
0.2 kids (CBB)
2.7 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (adult breeders)
2.5 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (sub-adult from 2004)
4.8 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (sub-adult from 2005)
2.1 Hypomelanistic BRB
0.1 Het for Hypomelanistic BRB
0.1 BCI "Elvira" normal from 1989
1.0 BCI Albino / het-anery
0.1 BCI Salmon / het-albino
0.1 BCI Anery / het-albino
0.1 BCI Salmon (possible super)
1.0 BCI Albino het stripe
1.0 BCI Salmon
0.1 BCI Ghost
0.1 BCI Super salmon, possible jungle
1.0 BCI Salmon, possible jungle
0.1 BCI Super Ghost

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

from what you and Psyc said does this mean that she'll produce 1/2 the size litters due to her small size? shouldn't the average imperator (sp) be about 12ft as a female?

Oh no, I would venture to say the average female will max out at 8 to 10 feet long. Only the largest will ever attain 12 feet. I have a 17 year old female that is very long at between 11 and 12 feet.

Litter size is based on females size, smaller females have smaller litters. Still, she should be able to produce decent litters but needs to bulk up a bit first. IMO, too skinny to breed in the pics.
-----
Thanks,

Dave "Rainbows-R-Us"

0.1 Wife (WC)
0.2 kids (CBB)
2.7 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (adult breeders)
2.5 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (sub-adult from 2004)
4.8 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (sub-adult from 2005)
2.1 Hypomelanistic BRB
0.1 Het for Hypomelanistic BRB
0.1 BCI "Elvira" normal from 1989
1.0 BCI Albino / het-anery
0.1 BCI Salmon / het-albino
0.1 BCI Anery / het-albino
0.1 BCI Salmon (possible super)
1.0 BCI Albino het stripe
1.0 BCI Salmon
0.1 BCI Ghost
0.1 BCI Super salmon, possible jungle
1.0 BCI Salmon, possible jungle
0.1 BCI Super Ghost

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

She may be a little thin, but she doesn't look like shes in any danger. 5ft is fine, it all just depends on the female. We had an 8 year old female who was 6ft, put out 10 slugs this year.. so yes, smaller snake = smaller clutch. I would put a little weight on her before breeding.
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0.1 Het Albino
1.0 DH-Sunglow

but does it have any advanatges? I mean, having a fatter smaller snake would increase the viability of the young born? Is that safe to say or is it just as common in a smaller snake with smaller cluthes to have just as many stillborn or premies or can I rest assured that most will live do to her not being as stressed? Or no, I have a small snake and the potential to get an albino will be cut in half, etc and I can still get the same number of dead at birth?

on albinism in boas - it is a recessive trait and so BOTH parents MUST contribute an albino gene in order for you to SEE albino offspring as a result.

If she does carry a hidden recessive albino gene, then it's possible you could get albinos by breeding her to a het albino or albino. But if she does NOT carry a hidden recessive albino gene, you will never see her produce albinos herself.

If she is a normal with no albino gene, all she will produce are normal babies of which all could possibly carry the albino gene (if the father was an albino) or half of which could carry the albino gene (if the father was a het-albino). In the second case, bred to a het-albino, you wouldn't know which were which (you wouldn't be able to tell who was carrying the hidden albino gene. you'd only know that roughly half of them possibly carry it. this is called 50% het)

From what I know, boas need to build up a fat reserve before they get pregnant, because they don't normally eat while they are pregnant.

Donna
Misty River Reptiles

"If she is a normal with no albino gene, all she will produce are normal babies of which all could possibly carry the albino gene (if the father was an albino)"

I meant to say...of which all WILL carry the albino gene (if the father is an albino). But just because they carry it, doesn't mean they will look albino. They will look normal if they carry only one albino gene.

I know what youy mean to a degree. I took a animal genetics class which covered enough but they had us working gentics witrh humans and 100s of traits. So the calculating part was different.

But basically yoru saying, genotypically, it would be albino, but phenotypically it would be a normal...

So she is useless. I would have to spend $4000 on an alino male, raise it, breed it to her, then follow with raising her young, and breeding it to another het for albino or an albino and then I would get what I am after. This could take yrs...

It would be easier to buy 2 het's and be guaranteed albinos out of the clutch. At least one....

right?